aturday Aug. 27, the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team took on the Butler Bulldogs at Robert R. Hermann Stadium for its third and final preseason game.

The Billikens ended the preseason with a tie, after winning their two previous matches against Creighton and Lindenwood University.

The final score of the game was 0-0, with the Billikens out-shooting the Bulldogs 7-6 and the Bulldogs netting three saves to SLU’s four. The Billikens had several scoring opportunities in the first half.

The first came off a direct kick by Junior John DiRaimondo, after freshman Dado Hamzagic was fouled in the 18th minute. Freshman Eric Sweetin had an opportunity on a break-away that was bottled up and cleared by Butler goalkeeper Frank Peabody.

However, the best opportunity came for Butler in the 36th minute, with a 10-yard shot deflected by Billiken goalkeeper Pat Disbennett.

Butler’s Frank Patano settled the rebound off Disbennett’s save and ripped a shot of his own, only to have it collected and finally cleared by the persistent SLU keeper.

Play in the second half opened with a cross from DiRaimondo from the right, just outside the 20-yard line post, to freshman forward Larry Geraghty, whose shot went just outside the left post. The Bulldogs had an opportunity with a direct kick just outside the 20-yard line that was saved by SLU’s second-half goalkeeper Jeff Sackman, and another opportunity with a corner kick with 20 minutes left of play. With less than three minutes to go, the Billikens had another strong opportunity when freshman Chad Hagerty sent a ball through to junior Alex Matteson, who fired the ball just over the crossbar.

Despite only coming out with a tie, sophomore defender Brandon Gasparovic had a positive outlook on the game.

“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked, but Butler was a hardworking team who played very physical, and it was a good test for us to see how we match up to a tough team like that,” Gasparovic said.

The men’s team welcomed two new members to the bench Saturday night, with the arrival of freshman Kyle Patterson from England on Friday afternoon, and the return of Sackman. Sackman returned to the roster after senior David Greathouse tore his MCL in the previous preseason game.

DiRaimondo, a junior midfielder/forward, was also recently recognized as one of 25 players on the 2005 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch list.

The Hermann Trophy is awarded to the best collegiate soccer player in the nation at the end of the season.

DiRaimondo was also selected preseason first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference.

After their strongest preseason game against Creighton University, a 1-0 win, the Billikens looked promising going into regular season play.

Against Creighton, they displayed improvement on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball.

With Creighton ranked 12th in the NSCAA Men’s preseason polls and the Billikens 25th, the Bills’ play may have proved them to be a better team than many expect.

With several freshmen getting valuable playing time, the Billikens appear ready to grow and improve.

The level of play against the Bulldogs was not what it was against Creighton, but the Billikens know what they are capable of, and they hope to fulfill their expectations of a successful season.

Gasparovic felt the Bills will still have a good season, despite a lackluster effort in the final preseason game.

“I think we’re pretty confident on where we stand going into the season. We have the depth and talent that we need to make it through a tough early schedule and feel we have enough momentum going into our home opener to start off strong,” he said.

The Billikens, who are the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10 conference, are ranked 25th in the NSCAA coaches poll.

It looks to be a promising year for the talented Billikens squad, which has plenty of potential and opportunities to grow and improve as they make their debut in the Atlantic-10 Conference this season.

Coach Dan Donigan also has a positive outlook on his team’s performance in preseason play and its entrance into the A-10 conference.

“You are only as good as your last game and I felt we had three pretty good exhibition games. The last game was a little complacent, but again it’s easy enough to correct, and our mentality and philosophy are right where we want them to be,” he said.

The Billikens open their regular season play with a game at 7:00 p.m. tonight at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

The Billikens welcome cross-state opponent the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

After UMKC comes to town, the Billikens then host the number three team in the country, the Duke Blue Devils, on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.